Charles Dickens

“ After I had left them, I laid myself down on my face on the bench, and cried for the first time since I had frightened birds as a boy at Snorridge Bottom, to think what a poor, ignorant, low-placed, private soldier I was.
It was only for half a minute or so. A man can't at all times be quite master of himself, and it was only for half a minute or so. Then I up and went to my hut, and turned into my hammock, and fell asleep with wet eye-lashes, and a sore, sore heart. ”

“ But I must likewise confess that I was not in a particularly pleasant humor, when I stood under arms that morning, aboard the Christopher Columbus in the harbor of the Island of Silver-Store. I had had a hard life, and the life of the English on the island seemed to be too easy and too gay, to please me. " Here you are, I thought to myself, "good scholars and good livers; able to read what you like, able to write what you like, able to eat and drink what you like, and spend what you like, and do what you like; and much you care for a poor, ignorant private in the Royal Marines! ”

“ I says to Charker, turning surly. " This is better than private-soldiering."
We had come down to the beach, to be friendly with the boat's-crew who were camped and hutted there; and we were approaching toward their quarters over the sand, when Christian George King comes up from the landing-place at a wolf s trot, crying, " Yup, So-Jeer!"—which was that Sambo pilot's barbarous way of saying. Halloo, Soldier! I have stated myself to be a man of no learning, and, if I entertain certain prejudices, I hope allowance may be made. ”

“ We all made a melancholy passage, under the hot sun, over to the mainland. There we landed in a solitary place, and were mustered on the sea sand. Mr. and Mrs. Macey and their children were among us, Mr. and Mrs. Pordage, Mr. Kitten, Mr. Fisher, and Mrs. Helltott. We mustered only fourteen men, fifteen women, and seven children. Those were all that remained of the English who had laid down to sleep that night, unsuspecting and happy, on the Island of Silver-Store. ”

“ I will bring in all those who are up at the Signal Hill. If we are surrounded before we can join you, you must make a sally and cut us out if you can. The word among our men is, 'Women and children!'"
He burst away, like fire going before the wind over dry reeds. He roused up the seven men who were off duty, and had them bursting away with him, before they knew they were not asleep. I reported orders to Charker, and ran to the fort, as I have never run at any other time in all my life; no, not even in a dream.
The gate was not fast, and had no good fastening ”

“ The chief person being Mr. Macey, I told him how the three men of the guard would be at the gate directly, if they were not already there, and how Sergeant Drooceand the other seven were gone to bring in the outlying part of the people of Silver-Store. I next urged him, for the love of all who were dear to him, to trust no Sambo, and, above all, if he could get any good chance at Christian George King, not to lose it, but to put him out of the world. ”

“ At Belize there had been great alarm of one cruel gang of pirates (there were always more pirates than enough in those Carribbean Seas) , and as they got the better of our English cruisers by running into out-of-the-way creeks and shallows, and taking the land when they were hotly pressed, the governor of Belize had received orders from home to keep a sharp lookout for them along shore. Now there was an armed sloop came once a year from Port Royal, Jamaica, to the island, ladened with all manner of necessaries to eat and to drink, and to wear, and to use in various ways ”

“ Charker was corporal, and the sergeant's name was Drooce. He was the most tyrannical non-commissioned officer in his majesty's service.
The night came on, soon after I had had the foregoing words with Charker. All the wonderful bright colors went out of the sea and sky in a few minutes, and all the stars in the heavens seemed to shine out together, and to look down at themselves in the sea, over one another's shoulders, millions deep. Next morning, we cast anchor off the island. There was a snug harbor within a little reef; there was a sandy beach ”

“ Christian George King been waiting for so-jeer such long time. Yup, yup!" What could I do, with five-and-twenty of them on me, but be tied hand and foot? So I was tied hand and foot. It was over now—boats not come back—all lost! When I was fast bound and was put up against the wall, the one-eyed English convict came up with the Portuguese captain, to have a look at me.
"See!" says he, "here's the determined man! If you had slept sounder, last night, you'd have slept your soundest last night, my determined man." ”

“ Being the kind of neat little woman it was natural to make a toy of—I never saw a woman so like a toy in my life—she had got the plaything name of Belltott. In short, she had no other name on the island. Even Mr. Commissioner Pordage (and he was a grave one!) formally addressed her as Mrs. Belltott. But I shall come to Mr. Commissioner Pordage presently.
The name of the captain of the sloop was Captain Maryon, and therefore it was no news to hear from Mrs. Belltott that his sister, the beautiful unmarried young English lady, was Miss Maryon. ”

“ I've got my death. And death ain't life. Is it. Gill!"
Having helped to lay his poor body on one side, I went back to my post. Sergeant Drooce looked at me, with his eyebrows a little lifted. I nodded. " Close up here, men and gentlemen all! "said the sergeant. "A place too many, in the line."
The pirates were so close upon us at this time, that the foremost of them were already before the gate. More and more came up with a great noise and shouting loudly. When we believed from the sound that they were all there, we gave three English cheers. ”

“ The captain was a Portuguese; a little man with very large ear-rings under a very broad hat, and a great bright shawl twisted about his shoulders.
They were all strongly armed, but like a boarding party, with pikes, swords, cutlasses, and axes. I noticed a good many pistols, but not a gun of any kind among them. This gave me to understand that they had considered that a continued roll of musketry might perhaps have been heard on the mainland; also, that for the reason that fire would be seen from the mainland they would not set the fort in flames and roast us alive ”

“ Says Captain Carton to Lieutenant Linderwood, "Sir, how will you divide your men? There is no room for all; and a few men should, in any case, be left here."
There was some debate about it. At last, it was resolved to leave eight marines and four seamen on the island, besides the sloop's two boys. And because it was considered that the friendly Sambos would only want to be commanded in case of any danger (though none at all was apprehended there) , the officers were in favor of leaving the two non-commissioned officers, Drooce and Charker. ”

“ Take all the prisoners you can. If they don't yield, kill the children to make them. Forward!" Then they all came on at the gate, and, in another half minute, were smashing and splitting it in.
We struck at them through the gaps and shivers, and we dropped many of them, too; but their very weight would have carried such agate, if they had been unarmed. I soon found Sergeant Drooce at my side, forming us six remaining marines in line—Tom Packer next to me—and ordering us to fall back three paces, and, as they broke in, to give them our one little volley at short distance. ”

“ Kitten, merely as being "under government." The beach was beginning to be a lively scene with the preparation for careening the sloop, and with cargo, and spars, and rigging, and water-casks, dotted about it, and with temporary quarters for the men rising up there out of such sails and odd and ends as could be best set on one side to make them, when Mr. Commissioner Pordage comes down in a high fluster, and asks for Captain Maryon. The captain, ill as he was, was slung in his hammock betwixt two trees, that he might direct ”

“ They had blue-lights and such like with them, but kept themselves as dark as murder.
The expedition got away with wonderful quietness, and Christian George King soon came back, dancing with joy.
"Yup, so-jeer," says he to himself in a very objectionable kind of convulsions, "Christian George King, sar, berry glad pirates all be blown a-pieces. Yup! Yup!" ”

“ How I came to be aboard the armed sloop, is easily told. Four-and-twenty marines under command of a lieutenant—that officer's name was Linderwood—had been told off at Belize, to proceed to Silver-Store, in aid of boats and sea men stationed there for the chase of the pirates. The island was considered a good post of observation against the pirates, both by land and sea ”

“ Commissioner " (he was very short with him) , "is an expedition against the pirates. It is a secret expedition, so please to keep it a secret."
"Sir," says Commissioner Pordage, "I trust there is going to be no unnecessary cruelty committed?"
"Sir," returns the officer, " I trust not."
"That is not enough, sir," cries Commissioner Pordage, getting wroth. "Captain Carton, I give you notice. Government requires you to treat the enemy with great delicacy, consideration, clemency, and forbearance." ”

“ Venning—standing upright on the top of the steps of the trench, with her gray hair and her dark eyes—hide her daughter's child behind her, among the folds of her dress, strike a pirate with the other hand, and fall, shot by his pistol. ”

“ I was a foundling child, picked up somewhere or another, and I always understood my Christian-name to be Gill. It is true that I was called Gills when employed at Snorridge Bottom betwixt Chatham and Maidstone to frighten birds ”

“ I won't. If you are not man enough to strike for a fellow-soldier because he wants help, and because of nothing else, I'll go into the other world and look for a better man."
Tom swept upon them, and cut him out. Tom and he fought their way through another knot of them, and sent them flying, and came over to where I was beginning again to feel, with inexpressible joy, that I had got a sword in my hand.
They had hardly come to us, when I heard, above all the other noises, a tremendous cry of women's voices. I also saw Miss Maryon, with quite a new face, suddenly clap her two hands over Mrs. ”

“ We men drew lots for it, and I drew " Island." So did Tom Packer. So, of course, did four more of our rank and file.
When this was settled, verbal instructions were given to all hands to keep the intended expedition secret, in order that the women and children might not be alarmed, or the expedition put in a difficulty by more volunteers. The assembly was to be on the same spot, at sunset. Every man was to keep up an appearance, meanwhile, of occupying himself in his usual way. ”